Alcohol fuel

About: Alcohol fuel is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2030 publications have been published within this topic receiving 42757 citations.

Diesel fuel oils

Abstract: This invention relates to improved Diesel fuel oils and more particularly to Diesel fuel oils which contain small amounts of addition agents which improve the performance characteristics of Diesel engines that burn said improved Diesel fuel oils Diesel engines are generally operated with

On-chip fuel cells for safe and high-power operation: investigation of alcohol fuel solutions

Abstract: An on-chip fuel cell, of membraneless, air-breathing and monolithic design, was proven to operate on a different fuel (methanol, ethanol or 2-propanol) solution containing an acidic ion-conductor (sulfuric acid) or a neutral one (phosphate buffer).

Performance studies with biomass-derived high-octane fuel additives in a two-stroke spark-ignition engine

Abstract: The intensive search for alternative fuels for spark-ignition engines has focused attention on fuels which can be derived from biomass. In this regard, orange oil and eucalyptus oil are found to be potential candidates for spark-ignition engines. Their properties are similar to gasoline in nature and they are miscible with gasoline without any phase separation. They can be used in spark-ignition engines with little engine modification as a blend with gasoline fuel. The high octane value of these fuels can enhance the octane value of the fuel when it is blended with low-octane gasoline. Hence, the knock-limited compression ratio (CR) can be further increased when these fuels are blended with gasoline. In the present work, 20% by volume of orange oil and eucalyptus oil were blended separately with gasoline and the performance, combustion and exhaust emission characteristics were evaluated at two different compression ratios. Test results indicate that the performance of fuel blends was much better than the gasoline fuel, in particular at the higher compression ratio. Hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emission levels in the engine exhaust were considerably reduced with the fuel blends at both the compression ratios tested. Between the two fuel blends tested, eucalyptus oil blend provides better performance than the orange oil blend. The maximum percentage improvement in the brake thermal efficiency obtained with eucalyptus oil blend is about 20.5% at 2 kW, 3000 r.p.m. and CR 9 over the normal gasoline engine.

Product Distributions and Efficiencies for Ethanol Oxidation in a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Cell

Abstract: Ethanol is an attractive fuel for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). In comparison with other organic fuels, ethanol has a high energy density. Therefore, direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) are considered to be highly attractive power sources for electronic devices and vehicles. In addition, ethanol can be oxidized in an ethanol electrolysis cell (EEC) to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells. Although ethanol has a high energy density and DEFCs have a high theoretical efficiency (98%), these are based on complete oxidation of ethanol to CO₂, while the main products from DEFCs and EECs are acetic acid and acetaldehyde. A good understanding of what happens during ethanol oxidation in fuel cell hardware is therefore a crucial step in the evolution of these technologies. It is particularly important in the development of new catalysts to improve cell efficiencies and performances by facilitating the complete oxidation of ethanol. The methods reported here provide information on the efficiency and product distribution for ethanol oxidation in a DEFC or EEC. They are based on polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology. In comparison with those reported in the literature, our methodologies are shown to have advantages over them by detecting the fuel itself and reaction products from both the anode and cathode exhausts. The amounts of ethanol consumed and acetic acid and acetaldehyde produced were determined by proton NMR spectroscopy while CO₂ was measured with a non-dispersive infrared CO₂ monitor. The efficiencies of these cells are dependent on the cell potential, crossover of ethanol, and stoichiometry of the ethanol oxidation reaction (i.e. the average number of electrons transferred per ethanol molecule). The stoichiometry of the EOR (ethanol oxidation reaction) was determined by using different methods in this work: an electrochemical method, analysis of the amount of ethanol consumed (ΔC) and from the product distribution (faradaic and chemical). It was found that the results from these methods were in a good agreement. In addition, the effects of fuel and product crossover were closely examined. It was shown that analysis of only the anode exhaust solution leads to an underestimation of ethanol and products due to crossover through the membrane to the cathode. To obtain accurate product distributions, the anode and cathode exhausts were combined. In addition, the chemical reaction between ethanol and oxygen that occurs in a DEFC was avoided by making measurement in an EEC with N₂ gas at the cathode. The stoichiometry, efficiency, and product distribution for ethanol electrolysis in fuel cell hardware has been determined at 80°C for various anodes prepared with commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C, and PtSn/C catalysts. Also, synergetic effects between these catalysts were studied by using mixed and bilayer electrodes. It was found that bilayer electrodes increased the overall efficiency of the cell by increasing the faradaic efficiency while maintaining high potential efficiency. An octahedral PtNi catalyst was prepared by using a literature method and tested in our system. In comparison to a Pt, this catalyst was shown to increase selectivity towards complete oxidation (to carbon dioxide) at low potentials and thereby increase efficiency. These results are contrary to those reported in the literature for this catalyst in a conventional electrochemical cell, and demonstrate the importance of the new methodologies in the evaluation and study of new catalysts for ethanol oxidation.